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Lake Angitola or lake of Angitola is an artificial lake located on the southern extremity of Piana di Sant’ Eufemia which is 3 km away from the gulf of the same name.

It was created in 1966 on the old riverbed.
The surrounding area, which is in the perimeter of “Parco Naturale regionale delle Serre”, was declared a naturalistic oasis and entrusted to the WWF’s administration in 1975. Ten years later it was named “zona umida di valore internazionale”, pursuant to RAMSAR Convention (D.M.30/09/1985). Nowadays, this place is estimated to be one of the most important reserves of the Mediterranean. The lake, whose maximum depth is 29 m, has an extension of 875 ha, and occupies a surface of 4.8% compared to the one of the Park.
The vegetation opposite to it is varied:
Numerous specimens of Eucaliptus spp., cork oaks (Quercus suber), black poplars (Populus nigra), white willows (Salix alba), typha plants (Thypa latifolia), black alders (Alnus glutinosa) can be found on the shores of the lake, while olive groves, the Mediterranean Scrub and a reforestation area with  Pinus halepensis are more present around it. The amphibian vegetation is represented by typha trees and the so called “fragmiteto”.
The weather conditions are favourable and the abundant presence of food make it possible for this area to become a place of attraction and reproduction for numerous birds like ospreys, marsh harriers, white herons, purple herons, grey herons, cormorants, egrets, mallards, Mediterranean gulls, glossy ibises, Eurasian spoonbill and great crested grebes, In addition, it is not uncommon to find ducks, moorhens, pond turtles, grass snakes and kingfishers.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)